Medical marijuana's Sandusky says he's not backing down from federal government

Special Section:Marijuana Seven weeks in San Bernardino County jail has not dampened Aaron Sandusky's spirit for fighting for medical marijuana in California.

Sandusky, president of the now closed G3 holistic medical marijuana cooperative in Upland, was released last week from jail following his arrest and indictment on June 14 on drug trafficking charges.

"I'm really looking forward to defending myself in federal court. I look forward to defend the rights of the patients and people who support medical marijuana in the state," Sandusky said Monday in his first post-jail interview. "It's something that I'm not running from. I'm running at them. I never was hiding from anybody."

Sandusky was arrested with five others affiliated with his Upland-based cooperative and Ontario warehouse. His cooperative also had locations in Colton and Moreno Valley.

Sandusky was held in county jail while government officials disputed the value of property he was submitting to fulfill his $200,000 bail.

A U.S. District Court judge approved the property last month.

"I think it was an attempt to keep me in jail and interfere with our ability to meet the requirement of bail," he said.

"It didn't seem like they were eager to follow the rules. They're making their own rules as they go along."

According to the indictment filed June 6 in U.S. District Court in Riverside, the six defendants in the case were charged in a conspiracy to manufacture and to possess with intent to distribute marijuana.

The Upland location was the only one of the three sites in operation at the time of the arrest.

The indictment also charges all the defendants with possession with intent to distribute marijuana.

Federal law prohibits marijuana, but California voters approved the use of the drug for medical purposes in 1996.

The federal trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 9 in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, said Roger Jon Diamond, Sandusky's attorney.

"It's never a good situation to be facing criminal charges," Diamond said.

"I know there's a stereotypical response from defense attorneys who say we welcome the opportunity to prove our innocence in court. But obviously it's better if you're not charged at all. I believe we can win the case if the judge agrees with my theory which I believe is viable."

This case is one of many legal battles Sandusky has found himself in over his chosen profession.

Sandusky has been battling the city of Upland since the city filed an injunction to close him down in September 2010.

The case is waiting to be heard by the state Supreme Court who will decide whether Upland was lawful in banning cooperatives through their zoning codes.

Diamond said he believed the state court could hear the case in about six months.

"You never know for certain," Diamond said. "But the court must notify us 30 days in advance for argument."

Sandusky, in addition to his cases, is also dealing with a dispute involving the landlord of the Ontario warehouse.

"The biggest problem I'm having right now is these accusations," Sandusky said. "I've got to defend myself against an accusation and an accusation by the federal government is guilty until proven innocent," he said. "So a lot is on my plate trying to get out of this and defend myself from being put into jail for 10 years minimum."

Sandusky believes the federal government may be coming after him because he has continued to fight local governments to keep his cooperative open and operating.

"I refused to lay down. I was standing up and fighting," he said.

Thom Mrozek, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office, disagreed with Sandusky's comments.

"Our investigations and decisions to charge cases are based solely on the evidence and the interests of justice," Mrozek said in an email on Monday.

"Any assertion the we are conspiring with local officials to deprive a criminal defendant of his rights in nothing less than ludicrous.

"Our recommendations regarding bond are also based solely on the evidence," Mrozek said.

"The bond determination in this case - like every other federal case - was made by a federal judge after careful review. And during the course of litigating certain issues related to the bond, a United States magistrate judge addressed some of the allegations made by the defense and specifically determined that federal prosecutors, at all times, have acted in good faith. The judge went so far as to admonish the defense for raising these allegations in court."

Sandusky and his brother, Keith Sandusky, who was also arrested, are confined to house arrest.

Keith Sandusky handled day-to-day operations at the collectives.

They are allowed to communicate with one another, but are prohibited from speaking to potential witnesses, which has kept Aaron Sandusky from reaching out to G3 patients.

"A lot of people are nervous about it," he said. "Some of the people who were willing to sign for bail were thinking they were going to be prosecuted for trying to help me. It's been a big ordeal for a lot of people, not just me but everybody that's been involved."

Sandusky said he expects to look for a job while on parole.

"My concern was I've got to downsize and get rid of all my liability because if I get kick out of my rental I'm sure that would be a violation of my parole and I guess they'd put me back in jail," he said.

Sandusky said when he was in jail he was on lockdown for 23 hours a day and given one hour to shower and make phone calls.

"I had learned a lot about what really is going on. It gave me a lot of time to think about what has happened in the past," he said.

Since Sandusky was in jail, former G3 Holistic employees have cleaned out the Upland space.